[merylsilverburg]

It seems "book" threads aren't very popular but I thought to give it another go since I'm trying to read more now and would be interested to find out what others are reading.

I'm currently reading a couple of books:

- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (nearly done, the story reads like a fairy tale but it's actually disguised as one of those enlightenment "finding yourself" sort of crap. An annoying ploy and I'm a bit irritated since I hate reading these sort of things but didn't realize the story was going to turn out like this...still, I will finish it to find out whether the boy finds his treasure or not.

- The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro (just started into 10 pages but quite intriguing so far)

- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (read the title story, a perfect example of selfish humans and different cultural upbringings)

- Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab by Gideon DeFoe (in the middle, I enjoyed the first book In an Adventure with Scientists! but this one seems a bit stale in its humor and characterizations)

I finished reading:

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is a fantastic book and watching the film based off it made me like the book better. It's so controlled in its tone and narration which really fits the mind of the main character and the overall story is just very sweet and sad.

Entombed by Linda Fairstein. This book I thought would be interesting since I enjoy reading mystery/thriller novels but this one really falls flat. It's got Edgar Allen Poe background (the title and story is loosely based off of his story The Premature Burial) but the entire book and ending is just so dumb.

The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. Never read a Tolstoy story before although I wanted to read War and Peace but I never got around to it. This story was shorter and gave me a feel for his style. A very impressive short story that really captured realistically the anguish and torture of a man realizing his unfulfilled and untruthful life before his death. The entire theme of death and life and the way Ivan's "friends" reacted to Ivan's death really applies to human nature.